The Inputs and the Outputs

A music technology focused blog

[patrickhill200297]

Fictional Event Poster

I enjoyed this assignment a lot more than I thought I would honestly. Canva feels so good to use as someone with no artistic ability. Admittedly I used an actual concert series for inspiration as it is my parents favorite musical venue. They also are no longer going on their cruise with Genesis the band so I made up an event for them at their favorite place with their favorite band! The speed at which I was capable of creating this poster astounded me. About 20 minutes went into the design because of how easy to use the application is I did not play around with stock photos or anything as I believe a good poster has a level of fluidity between its components and stock photos don't have the curvature to them to fit into a professional poster. Also I threw a random price on their for the rubric but my original plan was for the bottom line to just give the website info for tickets and location. All in all I enjoyed making the poster and event sorta!

[patrickhill200297]

Apple Loops

Logic Pro X is a very unique music production application. The modern form of composing with loops adds a mass production feel to any project someone can do. This can be frustrating in a field where traditionally perfection and expression are taught as the most important factors in performance. Using n eight bar long loop that will never change removes a lot of the control from an operator.

The hardest part of any loop based project is finding a number of loops that can harmonically fit together while simultaneously fitting the theme of whatever piece is being performed. However, the amount of dynamic control along with tempo can help blend multiple contrasting loops together. For example, in my curious effect song I bring in a funk brass loop at 0:34 into a brooding, fully synthesized atmosphere. The use of dynamics allowed me to blend these two contrasting styles together.

Something I believed would actually be an issue was the key of the loops. If I picked the key of C I assumed only C loops would work but I found places to throw in other keys as well. Again, in the Curious effect piece the very low bass part is actually keyed in D as a way to disorient the listener as if to represent the idea of the unknown. This was intentional as it goes with the science theme of the podcast it was written for. This being said, key is highly depended on the environment it is introduced in but can typically be checked by the composers ear very quickly.

In Conclusion, loops are a lot of fun when a composer wants quick results. However, I personally would rather spend months composing a single piece than a few hours just so that every aspect of my discipline could pour onto my sheet music. Loops are too easy to be regularly used in a classical training method.

Curious Effect

Neuroscience Intro

[patrickhill200297]

Harry’s New Album

Harry Stiles recently came out with his new album “Fine Line” featuring songs such as “Watermelon Sugar”, “Sunflower vol. 6”, and “Lights Up”. “Lights Up”, in particular, was one of the best songs from the album going into the new decade. Quickly becoming an lgbtq+ anthem the song carries a theme of stepping out from the shadows and being honest to others about who you are. Chorus lyrics such as “step into the light” or “I’m not ever going back” support this theme and are heavily emphasized in the chorus. The song begins with a fade-in of a melodic synthesizer with an acoustic guitar accompaniment. As the vocals begin at 0:18 the synthesizer falls dramatically in pitch to disrupt the  feeling of suspension it had provided previously. This abrupt change kick starts the beginning the song and its theme of change. As you listen to the piece you may hear the acoustic guitar pan from the left to the right each time it arpeggiates a chord which may make you think the music is literally moving forward in a steady direction signaling we as listeners to do the same. Lights Up has a lot of hidden genius throughout it’s entirety and is absolutely worth a listen.

Harry Stiles “Lights up”: https://youtu.be/7-x3uD5z1bQ